Nassau eyes a business boom

Taking a page from The Great Depression’s playbook, Nassau County on Tuesday unveiled its “New Deal for Nassau,” a program designed to boost government efficiency by cutting down on delays caused by bureaucracy and red tape.

The program, which is in its preliminary, fact-finding stages, is a mission by Legislature Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro and Legis. David Mejias to make it easier for businesses to operate in the county, stimulate the economy and attract new companies, development and jobs.

The legislators have already held a couple of meetings with contractors, builders, Chamber of Commerce officials, the Long Island Housing Partnership, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, the county economic development department, Hofstra University and the Long Island Association to brainstorm ideas to fast-track development and attract business.

More meetings are planned with labor unions, towns, villages and other municipalities.

“This is the time to get this done,” Mejias said. “Because the economic climate is the way it is, people will be willing to try anything.”

Mejias said he is holding a series of small meetings before setting public hearings. For example, he plans to hold health care committee meetings in January to discuss efficiencies in hopes that new laws could be on the books in February.

“We have to do this now,” said Dan Perkins, vice president of governmental affairs for the Long Island Association. He said between 2000 and 2007, 157,000 people ages 25 to 44 left Long Island, an 18.9 percent out-migration rate. That was also the same time frame in which the LIA was fighting for inclusionary zoning for workforce housing, which was passed by the state Legislature this year and will go into effect in January.

“We have to move fast on this,” he said. “Long Island is changing and we need to change with it.”

Lewis Yevoli, the former Oyster Bay Supervisor now with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, said the county needs to work with the towns and villages to change their zoning laws to make it easier for builders to increase densities and build affordable, workforce housing.

He said many of the density figures are arbitrary numbers that can be easily raised with no major impacts.

“The more you broaden the tax base, the less burden it puts on existing taxpayers,” Yevoli said. He said the IDA also has a number of incentives and programs to attract and help small businesses that need to be better promoted.

“We have to get rid of the image that you can’t do business in Nassau County,” Mejias said. “I’m committed to getting something done.”

5 comments

“Taking a page from The Great Depression’s playbook, Nassau County on Tuesday unveiled its “New Deal for Nassau,” a program designed to boost government efficiency by cutting down on delays caused by bureaucracy and red tape.”

The permitting process, today, in a slow economy is WORSE, not better, than it was two years ago when the volume of new permit applications was substantially greater!

It can take over 20 weeks to get a simple renovation permit in today’s difficult economic environment.

This is costing businesses tens of thousands of dollars and for absolutely no justifiable reason.

The first step is a moratorium on Property Tax Hikes and a rollback of the sales tax. As business owners, we have to make do with less, it should start with government too. Especially since all governements greedily profited from the mortgage mess (every mortgage in NYC and Nassau County had a high tax at closing!)

A “New Deal” to “pass laws” to make Long Islands 1,000s of Government jurisdictions more efficient and more condusive to business!?

Absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

Stop making new laws and get rid of the old laws!

If Long Island is to become more attractive to business and survive, it must get rid of villages and towns; introduce market competition to improve the quality and reduce the cost of public school education; and reduce the spider web of laws and regulations that suffocate all productive activity.